How Discovering My Pattern Empowered Me to Take Charge of My Life & Fulfillment.
Growing up I had big dreams for the trajectory of my career. As an achievement oriented individual, I also had a timeline in my head. I inherently knew that in order to meet my own timeline I had to get very good at things very fast. What I didn’t understand was how that underlying belief would both serve me and get squarely in my way again and again.
I had a pattern, it RAN me for many years. I worked my way through my industry, for many years inspired to the point where even a 1.5 - 2 hour commute each way didn’t phase me. I believed it was just part of the sacrifice needed to prove to myself and others how badly I wanted something.
Eventually, it got to me. That 5:30am alarm clock the most resented sound in my world. Knowing the traffic pattern down to exactly which lane to change to at which point to beat the traffic flow started to make me feel crazy and irritable. The days felt long, and I was exhausted by the time I even arrived to start them. I felt like I wasted more time pretending to be busy and searching for busy projects. I felt the need to justify my worth. I felt as though I was no longer successful.
Truth was, my sales production was through the roof. I was exceeding all of my objectives, collecting the quarterly bonuses one after another, and even won an award for top seller that year. Yet, I felt as though I had stalled in my progress and was unworthy of the recognition. What happened?
This pattern repeated throughout my 20+ Sales Career, both as an individual contributor and a leader. Until I figured out what was actually happening, what pattern I could get ahead of. It looked like this:
ACQUIRE NEW POSITION/JOB
Year 1 – Uncomfortable being new – determined to figure it out fast (LEARNING/GROWING)
Year 2 - In control, able to plan and get ahead of the “cycle” (ROCKING/ GOAL FOCUSED)
Year 3 – Frustrated and bored, busy pretending not to be, business is coming in (BORED/STUCK)
Once I understood this pattern for myself, I started to leverage the awareness both in how I positioned and went after new roles, and in how I communicated my needs to my Leaders and myself to stay in a place of learning and growing longer – where I felt most motivated and inspired. It allowed me to identify and avoid roles that were predictable to me and seek out more challenging opportunities that would change from year to year. This also empowered the way I came lead and watch for similar patterns in others.
What patterns or themes are you aware of in your own life? How might you leverage the awareness to change or take advantage of your pattern/theme?
*Take my 3 Min Self –Awareness Assessment and find out what might be part of your pattern at https://assess.coach/ajackedexperience/
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